Nuns Fight Italian Town’s Plan To Take Away Their Beach Club
Decades-old beach concession helps fund the Catholic sisters’ charitable work
A group of Catholic nuns in the Italian seaside town of Spotorno are challenging plans by local authorities to put the beachfront concession they have managed for decades up for auction, fearing the move could affect an important source of funding for their charitable activities.
The nuns, members of the Suore di Carità di Santa Maria order, have operated the Bagni Gino Garrone beach resort since 1946. The 50-metre stretch of beachfront provides income that helps fund the order’s charitable work, including an infant school and a summer camp.
The dispute is linked to changes in Italian and European regulations governing beach concessions. Under the European Union’s Bolkestein directive, long-standing beachfront concessions are being opened to public tender rather than automatically renewed for existing operators.
Spotorno Mayor Mattia Fiorini has said the nuns will be able to compete in the tender if they wish to continue operating the beach club. However, losing the concession or receiving less favourable terms could reduce the income available to the religious order and affect its charitable programmes.
Spotorno is among several Italian municipalities implementing the new system ahead of a June 2027 deadline. The reforms have triggered disputes across Italy, where many coastal businesses have operated under long-term concessions for generations.
For the nuns, the beach club is not simply a commercial enterprise. Revenue from the facility has helped sustain services for children and families, making it an important financial resource for the order for nearly 80 years.
The dispute has consequently become an unusual confrontation between European rules requiring greater competition for public coastal resources and the interests of a religious charity that has managed the same stretch of beach since the aftermath of World War II.
The case highlights the broader tensions surrounding Italy’s efforts to reform its beach concession system while protecting businesses and organisations with longstanding ties to the country’s coastline.
